Day 13 and 14: Mahi-Mahi Fish Tacos

This meal was a very versatile one... we even had enough to have leftovers the next night!  So this post is featuring two different dinners from one meal.  And the Mahi-Mahi was one of the items I bought waaaay ahead of time because it went on sale at Harris Teeter and I froze it until we were ready to use it.

Menu:
Breakfast:  Meal Replacement Shake
Snack 1:  Apple
Lunch: Leftover from Day 12
Snack 2:  Carrots
Dinner: Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

1 lb Mahi Mahi (or other white fish)
1 packet low-sodium (or homemade) taco seasoning
1 Onion, sliced
Taco Fixins (lettuce, salsa, rice, greek yogurt, cheese)

Coat fish with taco seasoning.  In a large pan, spray no fat, no calorie cooking spray on medium heat, place fish on seasoned side down.  Sprinkle seasoning on other side to coat.  Cook fish about 2-3 minutes per side or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, slice onions and sautee with remaining taco seasoning.
Fix tacos as you like!

Day 14 we just reheated the leftover fish and cooked some quinuoa with salsa and mixed vegetables!

Day 10: Chicken Fajita Salad

The last day of the cleanse phase is over!!!!  I made it... with only one cheat day.

Today's Menu:
Breakfast: Meal Replacement Shake
Snack 1: Fruit Salad
Lunch: Leftovers from Day 9
Snack 2: Raw Veggies
Dinner: Chicken Fajitas over Salad

This meal was a pre-made freezer meal that I made.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take it out of the freezer this morning so I had to defrost it in the microwave and then cook it on the stove.  Below I have attached the usual recipe... I prefer it cooked in the oven, which is how the original recipe is!
Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 large purple onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 orange pepper, sliced
• 1 can RO*TEL (I used the Mexican Lime & Cilantro variety)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice chicken and veggies into strips.
3. In a large bowl, combine the, lemon, and spices. Mix well.
4. Add the chicken and veggies to the seasoning mixture and stir until coated.
5. Pour into greased 10X13 baking dish.  (Use No calorie/No fat cooking spray)
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Stir halfway through cooking.

Day 9: Turkey Burgers (Delux) with Sweet Potato Fries

Ok!  I know I've missed a couple days... between being busy and feeling guilty I just haven't been able to blog the last few days.  My menu has gotten a little bit off so I had to edit it... but that's ok, I left a few days open for wiggle room.

Day 6:  Leftover Night... Tuna with lightly cooked vegetables and brown rice


Day 7:  I cheated a bit... I went to an engagement party at Xanki... and well you can't go to Xanki and not eat.  The whole experience is about eating!  So I had chicken and veggies... but technically they were cooked in oil and with some soy sauce (not low sodium)  Woops!

However, since I cheated the day before I was suuuuper good on Day 8.
Day 8:
Breakfast: Meal Replacement Shake
Snack 1: Apple
Lunch:  Leftover from Day 5
Snack 2: Spinach Salad
Dinner: Winter Chicken Bake (One of the pre-made meals that was in the freezer... cooked in crockpot)

Today is Day 9
Menu:
Breakfast: 2 Over Medium Eggs with 1/2 of an Avocado
Snack 1: Fresh Fruit Salad
Lunch: Leftovers from Day 8
Snack 2: Carrots with home-made hummus
Dinner:  Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

These burgers were one of my premade meals... I just froze them in individual bags so that they were ready to throw on the grill.

Burgers
Mix a pound of ground turkey with 1 T minced onion, 2 garlic cloves (minced), and 1 T soy sauce.  Separate into 4 patties.  

I started out cooking the fries because they were set to take 26 minutes.

As the fries were cooking I cut salad fixins and lettuce.

After about 10 minutes I put the burgers on the grill.  Cooking 10 minutes on each side (they needed a little extra time since they started out frozen).  They were so juicy and yummy!

I also chopped up an avocado and made a quick guacamole with a spoonful of salsa, some lime juice, a dash of garlic powder and onion powder.  

To assemble my burger I topped with 

Onion

 
Tomato --------------------->


















Guacamole
...and then I also fried an egg and put it on top :P I love fried eggs on my burgers! --------------->

VOILA!

It was pretty delish!

Tomorrow's dinner:  Chicken Fajitas (Pre-made Frozen Meal)

8 Pre-Made, Freezer Bag Meals to Make Your 24 Day Challenge Easier!

Alright!  My Challenge begins on Sunday and I prepped my 8 meals this morning!  So far, I bought all ingredients that I could ahead of time, including meats (to freeze), canned goods, etc.  So now the only things I will have to buy each week are the produce and any additional things I need for breakfast or snacks.  The meals I am providing for you are just dinners... though I am generally able to feed 3 people with each dinner and then I eat leftovers for my lunches.  Generally I eat fresh fruit or vegetables for my daily snacks and either eggs or a meal replacement shake for breakfast.

The full grocery list and menu plan are available at the links below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0eAYnf1W4h8bFVURFNFYnUxOWs/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0eAYnf1W4h8M21Gdi1KaXhiVDg/edit?usp=sharing

Cost Thusfar: $145.00     (Keep in mind this is most ingredients except produce and a few meat purchases)
Prep Time: 2 hours... which considering how much time it'll save when school starts, not bad at all!

Meals prepped:
Taco Turkey over Dirty Rice
Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Basil and Cherry Tomatoes
Winter Chicken Bake
Turkey Burgers
Chicken Fajitas (This one is so good we're having it twice!)
Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables and Mushroom Gravy
Roasted Chicken, Potatoes and Vegetable Medley with a Mushroom Gravy







Now, I believe that eating healthy and restrictively can be absolutely delicious so I have careful chosen all of the dishes for my 24 challenge based on personal experience!  So... Get your bags ready!






I started out with making the mushroom gravy because I needed that to cool before I could put it in the freezer bag.

Savory Mushroom Gravy 
This recipe is my own version of SparkRecipes.com's Savory Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy

***since I put gravy in 2 pre-made recipes I doubled the recipe***
2 c. mushrooms (sliced)
2 medium onions (chopped)
4 c. vegetable broth (low sodium)
2 t. soy sauce (liquid aminos)
2 T fresh rosemary
2 t thyme   (if you don't have fresh... you can substitute rosemary and thyme and use an italian seasoning)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
4 T whole wheat flour

Directions:
In a large saute pan, spray no fat, no calorie cooking spray.  Add onions and cook about 5 minutes, until they turn clear.  Add mushrooms, garlic, soy sauce and herbs.  Saute for about 5 minutes, until onions start browning.  Add flour and stir well. When flour turns light brown- add broth slowly, stirring well.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Continue stirring until mixture coats the back of the spoon, about 5-10 minutes.  I then emulsified my gravy... but you certainly don't have to- I've done it both ways and it's delish no matter what!

Next was mostly just cutting up vegetables and chicken and putting them in bags, with measuring a few spices here and there.


1. Taco Turkey Over Dirty Rice (Rice will be made the day of)

1 package 99% fat free ground turkey
1 Onion, diced
2-3 Tbs.  Low Sodium Taco Seasoning (Recipe on blog) 
2 cans Low sodium Black Beans, drained
1 (14.5oz) can low sodium tomato sauce (I used diced tomatoes and just emulsified them for a few seconds)
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
Combine all ingredients and put in freezer bag










2. Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Basil and Cherry Tomatoes 
This recipe I am making on Day 2... the only prep needed thusfar was to cut the chicken and freeze... on the day of you boil the chicken, add the tomatoes and basil and roast with balsamic vinegar... super easy!

3. Winter Chicken Bake
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed of fat
1 sweet potato
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 medium apple - peeled, cored, and chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 TBSP Sugar Free BBQ Sauce (ex: Walden’s Farms)

4. Turkey Burgers

Mix a pound of ground turkey with 1 T minced onion, 2 garlic cloves (minced), and 1 T soy sauce.  I went ahead and split the burgers into sandwich bags this way they are grill-ready... they will be served with a salad and frozen sweet potato fries on Day 6!

5 & 6. Chicken Fajitas (The recipe is not doubled... but I made two of these because we love them!)
3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (cut into strips)

1 large red onion
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 can Rotel
2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 1/4 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Lemon Juice

Combine all ingredients in freezer bag... ready for the oven!

 7. Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables and Mushroom Gravy
1 pork tenderloin (these always go BOGO at Harris Teeter so I already had a ton on hand!)
1 sweet potato (cubed)
1 large onion, sliced
3 carrots, diced

Combine potatoes, onion and carrots in freezer bag along with 1/2 of the mushroom gravy you made earlier.  The tenderloin is kept separate because I like to get a little crust on the outside of it before roasting.  I also had some mushrooms leftover from making the gravy... so I sliced and added those as well.

 8. Roasted Chicken with a Vegetable Medley and Mushroom Gravy
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 sweet potatoes, cubed
1 onion, sliced
3 carrots, diced

Add all ingredients in freezer bag along with the other half of the mushroom gravy.

 And there you have it!  8 meals prepped and ready to go.  As I cook the dishes I will post more photos of the finished products along with the full recipes, should you like to cook these meals without freezing them ahead of time!

Ready, Set, Challenge!

Hello healthy food bloggers!  I know it's been forever since I put any recipes up here.... but get ready for an overload of healthy planning.  I am about to embark on my second Advocare 24 Day Challenge and aside from keeping track of my progress along the way on my blog this time (which I plan to do) I also decided to share my meal plan.

For anyone that has ever done a 24 day challenge before, Advocare gives a great cookbook full of ideas.  One of the selling points for me about Advocare was that it isn't a set meal plan... You get to choose whatever you want eat within the limits.  Well... for anyone that knows me, I am a Kindergarten teacher and I take pride in my organization and planning skills... sometimes it's to a fault.  On top of that, I find that it's easier to stick to a diet program when you have a plan.  So between being organized but also the hours that I have to put in, being a teacher, I went ahead and planned all of my meals for the 24 day challenge... that way I won't have to worry about wondering what I will eat when I get home and then end up cheating.

This is the Google Doc of my Meal Plan
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0eAYnf1W4h8bFVURFNFYnUxOWs/edit?usp=sharing

Howeever, I didn't just stop there.  You may notice that some of the days have a star next to them.  The star represents a meal that I looked at and could go ahead and prep/freeze so that it's all ready to go from the freezer to the oven to the table!  I'm all about prepping as much as possible so that I don't have to worry about it later.  Ultimately, there were 8 meals I could pre-make and freeze! That's 1/3 of your meals right there!  So next, I created a document with a grocery list with all the ingredients needed for the 8 pre-made meals first and then a Weekly guide with groceries I'd need each week afterward.  This also allowed me to check out the grocery ads for a couple weeks before my challenge arrived so that I could get some ingredients on really good sales (for example... Chicken Breasts went Buy 2 Get 3 Free a couples weeks ago... so we went ahead and stocked up!)

This is the grocery list doc...
 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0eAYnf1W4h8M21Gdi1KaXhiVDg/edit?usp=sharing

Now... it's time to shop.  Soon to come... the meal prep recipes and pictures!